The excerpt from P&H that struck me first was "writing, like reading, is a complex process, influenced by many factors." While this seems obvious, when phrased as such, it struck a fresh cord for me. We've talked about teaching writing and the process, and about teaching reading, but haven't seemed to make the connections between writers as readers and vice versa. The two roles have much in common: readers want to read about what they like, and what they can connect to/are familiar with. This varies from reader to reader as it varies from writer to writer. I also thought about this in terms of practicing writing every day, and the factual proof that P&H cite showing this makes better writers; it can be done in every classroom, even as a brief free write/reflection to readings before or after class, or as an assessment of understanding, too. Finally, while we've discussed the writing process as being recursive, jumping from different stages as you revise/compile, most readings haven't outright focused on the idea that it's best to teach one step at a time, in a particular order, before bouncing around the process. This should seem obvious, but I do feel like it's something to consider more seriously when talking about teaching writing.
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